Report says government businesses could be 'monetized' to bring in cash

A report commissioned by Premier Doug Ford says the province could generate cash by selling all or part of its government business enterprises. Those enterprises are the LCBO, Ontario Power Generation and Ontario Lottery and Gaming. (David Donnelly/CBC)

A review of spending commissioned by Premier Doug Ford is encouraging him to sell Crown corporations, including the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, to bring short-term cash into provincial coffers.

The review says the government should maximize the value of provincial assets, including considering "divestiture" if the business case warrants.

"Ontario currently holds assets that could be monetized to generate a one-time cash payout by selling all or a portion of GBEs (government business enterprises) and/or owned real estate," the report says. It was conducted by the auditing firm EY Canada.

The three Crown corporations that the province classifies as "government businesses enterprises" are the LCBO, Ontario Power Generation and Ontario Lottery and Gaming.

"Taking decisive action is the only way forward to put Ontario on a sustainable fiscal footing," says the report. "Such opportunities should not result in involuntary job losses, and instead focus on efficiency and effectiveness improvements."

The review was released Tuesday by Ford's cabinet minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, president of the Treasury Board.

Bethlenfalvy is neither committing to acting on any of the report's recommendations, nor is he ruling any of them out.

Peter Bethlenfalvy, Treasury Board president in the Doug Ford government, released what he calls a line-by-line review of government spending. (CBC)

"The range of ideas that they put on the table is pretty comprehensive," he told a news conference on Tuesday. "We'll move quickly to look at the options and have a path forward."

The report comes on the heels of the Ford government's announcement that the deficit in the current fiscal year, under terms of the Liberal budget tabled before the election, is on track to be as much as $15 billion. Ford is also creating a legislative committee to investigate the deficit, which he calls "the worst political scandal in the history of Ontario."

The Ford government commissioned the review and billed it as an "unprecedented line-by-line audit" of government spending. But the firm itself says its report was not actually an audit.

The report also urges the government to reconsider the universality of social programs.

"There are a number of benefit programs that are currently applied without any means testing, which could shift to a means-tested eligibility formula where ability to pay is the threshold," says the report.

"This is about modernizing and transforming the way government does business," said Bethlenfalvy. "This is not about job cuts. We respect and value the work that the front-lines do."